Poll: 28 Percent Satisfied With Way US Is Being Governed

Less than a third of Americans are satisfied with how the country is being governed, down from last year, Gallup reports.

Gallup asked in a survey, "Would you say you are satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the nation is being governed?"

28 percent said satisfied.

71 percent said dissatisfied.

Last year, 33 percent said satisfied.

Last year, 67 percent said dissatisfied.

The previous high came in September 2002, when 59 percent of Americans were satisfied with the way the country was being governed.

Gallup notes that previous lows came in 2011, when the country's credit rating got downgraded, and in October 2013, during the federal shutdown. The poll also notes that although the current level of satisfaction is low, it isn't the lowest its been in the past five years, though it "continues the pattern of negativity seen for over a decade."

"Because both presidential and congressional job approval ratings are low on a historical basis, it is not surprising that the broad measure of confidence in how the nation is being governed is low as well," wrote Gallup's Frank Newport. "These perceptions are all clearly yoked to one another, and it's likely to require significant upward movement on the two approval ratings before satisfaction with the way the nation is being governed gains significant ground going forward."

Gallup polled 1,022 adults living in the United States by phone Sept. 6 -10. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.